This Friday, January 12, Varese Sarabande is reissuing the long-out-of-print soundtrack album to 1984's thriller Thief of Hearts.  The album's only prior release on CD was back during its original release and only in Germany, at that.  This new edition has been expanded by three bonus tracks and features new liner notes written by our very own Joe Marchese.  And we want you to WIN a copy!  Read on...

The film starred newcomer Steven Bauer as Scott, a burglar who breaks into the home of married couple Mickey (Barbara Williams) and Ray (John Getz).  After inadvertently stealing Mickey's private journals among the other possessions, he becomes infatuated and decides to insinuate himself into her life by posing as a client who needs his apartment redecorated.  The two soon begin an affair which leads to complications with Ray and Scott's criminal partner Buddy, portrayed by David Caruso, and the situation leads to a deadly confrontation at the end.  Cheers' George Wendt also has a supporting role.

The movie was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, who had a huge hit the previous year with Flashdance at the box office and also on the charts with its smash theme song performed by Irene Cara.  Hoping to replicate that success, they turned to Giorgio Moroder, who composed the score to Flashdance, for this new film.  He would, however, only compose the main theme for the film.  The rest of the score would be written by Moroder's longtime collaborator Harold Faltermeyer.  A pioneer of electronic music, Faltermeyer would utilize that style for his score.  The eventual album preserved five cuts of his music.

The soundtrack album was anchored by the vocal version of Moroder's theme performed and co-written by Melissa Manchester.  The synthpop-flavored "Thief of Hearts" continued the sound that Manchester had begun in her final years at Arista (chronicled on last year's complete singles compilation Through the Eyes of Love from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music).  It became another hit for Manchester when it hit the Hot 100 and went to the Top 20 on the AC and Dance charts.  The Dance Mix which hit the latter chart is included as one of the bonus tracks on the new reissue.

Other tracks and artists on the album include E.G Daily (who would appear in Pee Wee's Big Adventure the next year) with "Love in the Shadows" and "Just Imagine (Way Beyond Fear)" from Beth Anderson and Joe "Bean" Esposito.  Anderson would also perform the vocals for Moroder's theme to The NeverEnding Story in 1984.  Annabella Lwin, who had departed her lead singer role with Bow Wow Wow at this point, would contribute "Passion Play."

Thief of Hearts did not become a hit at the box office and, other than the title song, the music did not make much a dent on the charts.  However, Bruckheimer, Simpson and Faltermeyer would quickly rebound when, around two months later, Beverly Hills Cop was released.  Faltermeyer's "Axel F" would become a huge hit as would "The Heat is On," performed by Glenn Frey from the soundtrack.  Faltermeyer and Moroder would also team for Bruckheimer and Simpson's film Top Gun in 1986, whose soundtrack of course included the Oscar-winning "Take My Breath Away" performed by Berlin.

Varese's new reissue includes, in addition to the Dance Mix of Melissa Manchester's title song, two additional bonus tracks: the 1985 re-recorded single version and the special remixed version of "Love in the Shadows."  Joe's notes in the eight-page color booklet feature new quotes from Manchester, whose latest album, The Fellas, was released last fall.  Thief of Hearts has been freshly remastered by Chas Ferry.

We've got the full tracklisting and preorder links below for Thief of Hearts, due this Friday.  Click HERE for an opportunity to WIN Thief of Hearts!

Various Artists, Thief of Hearts: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Expanded Edition (Varese Sarabande, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Thief of Hearts - Melissa Manchester
2. Love in the Shadows - E.G. Daily
3. Stolen Secrets - Harold Faltermeyer
4. Tear Me Up - Darwun Hastings
5. Love Theme from "Thief of Hearts" - Harold Faltermeyer
6. Just Imagine (Way Beyond Fear) - Beth Anderson & Joe "Bean" Esposito
7. Passion Play - Annabella Lwin
8. Thief of Hearts - Harold Faltermeyer
9. Collage - Harold Faltermeyer
10. Final Confrontation - Harold Faltermeyer
11. Love in the Shadows (Single Version) - E.G. Daily
12. Thief of Hearts (Dance Mix) - Melissa Manchester
13. Love in the Shadows (Special Remixed Version) - E.G. Daily

Tracks 1-10 from Thief of Hearts: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Casablanca LP 822 942-1, 1984
Track 11 from A&M Records Single AM-2682, 1986
Track 12 from Casablanca 12" Single 880-308-1Q, 1984
Track 13 from A&M Records 12" Single SP-12187, 1986